Simple Esl Lesson Plans

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The lesson plan functions as a roadmap for the teacher, providing an organized framework for the planning, preparation, and execution of the lesson and serving as a record of what has been completed. It should not be a detailed script, but rather a guide that allows for flexibility and adaptation in the classroom. The plan is a living document that may continue to be refined and enhanced after execution, incorporating lessons learned. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Simona H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Through the process of developing a plan, the teacher will be able to organize their thoughts on the lesson objectives...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas There are many interactive tools that can be used during teaching to enhance a lesson and keep students engaged. There are also a few tools that are a teacher’s lifeline during a lesson. Course materials that range from props and pictures of vocabulary words to simple worksheets and lesson plans are integral to teaching a good lesson. They can provide basic aid to a teacher or help keep the students’ attention. But, when overused or used during the wrong times, course materials can become problematic and disadvantageous. Different things that a teacher brings to a lesson can make or break an ESL lesson. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Emma H. There are some course...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is a significant element of everyday life as a teacher in English as a foreign language. A lesson plan acts as a step-by-step guide providing the structure for your lesson. However, too much planning can make lessons rather rigid and stop the teacher being flexible to the needs of the students. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Mariska F. Before planning a lesson, it is essential to classify the learning outcomes for the class. This is crucial as it helps the teacher maintain a standard teaching pattern and does not let the class deviate from the topic. Pre-planning helps the teacher to be better equipped in answering questions asked by the students...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Planning, planning, planning! Many things in life need to be properly planned, be it a summer holiday or a work presentation. It can be a plan that is formally written down or it can be a plan that you simply keep in your mind. Having some kind of structure in place before doing activities will help put you at ease because you know what to do next and what to expect. Planning will also make you more productive as there will be no ‘guessing’ time, you will know what to do and when to do it. Taking the time to plan your lessons will almost certainly save you time in the long run. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lizelle K. A lesson plan is a plan of what...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A lesson plan is a very important element for teaching. Not only it provides a standard procedure of teaching, but it also helps the teacher keep track of each lesson. Moreover, it is also very helpful in some special cases, such as substitute teachers can use the lesson provided to carry out the lesson more efficiently. Although different teachers may have different teaching styles, a lesson plan should be prepared by all teachers despite the teaching style. A good lesson plan should include the following 5 components; lesson topic, class objectives, procedure, time management, and student practice. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yang L. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Doing up lesson plans for my up and coming TEFL classes is something that I am quite excited about. I suppose it is because I see an opportunity for creativity and that gets my juices flowing. I love the engage, study and activate model that was taught to us, both in the TEFL course itself as well as in this course on teaching business English lessons to adults. I would like to share some ideas that I have reaped from this course on how I would prepare a lesson plan for the to engage, study and activate methodology. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bonnie B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The engaging portion of the lesson is...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Lesson planning is vital to ensure a smooth lesson. If you are new to teaching English as a foreign language, lesson planning might seem daunting at first. However, after reading through this comprehensive guide, you should already feel a lot more confident! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Betty S. A lesson plan is like a set of notes. It tells us what we are going to teach and how we are going to teach. A lesson plan is important because of several reasons. Mainly, it is a road map to help the teacher know where s/he is going in the lesson. With a lesson plan teachers are more confident because they know what to do in every step of the lesson. It provides a systematic outline to induce...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences When I was young, I dreamt about thousands of different jobs, but being an online English teacher was never one of them. However, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Chinese students ranging from 5 to 13 years old and it has been one of the best experiences of my life so far. How am I going to communicate with them? Am I ready to be a teacher? How will I transmit what I want to teach? These are some of the questions that went through my mind before accepting the job, but when I finally decided to take it and started to be an ESL teacher I knew I was doing what I love the most, transmitting knowledge. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karla V. I first started teaching with a Chinese...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is an important part of being a TEFL teacher. While experienced TEFL teachers may appear to not require a plan it is only because they have probably taught a lesson so many times that the majority of their plan is in their head. They will still have a good idea of how they want and expect the lesson to proceed. Inexperienced TEFL teachers will need the structure a good lesson plan provides. A good plan acts as a guide to your planning. It helps a TEFL teacher consider the direction of the lesson and possible pitfalls and diversions. It also helps a teacher keep on track during the lesson but should not be so restrictive that it prevents flexibility in class. A lesson...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A lesson plan is a teacher working document which serves as a step by step guide that provides a detailed description of a course or what the students are supposed to learn and how effectively it can be done during lesson time. Over time there have been lots of description as to what a lesson plan should look like or how a lesson could be planed. It is very important to plan a lesson because it is very difficult for inexperienced teachers to be flexible in a lesson without a teaching guide. However, planning a lesson should be carefully done so as to avoid making the teacher less flexible to meet up with the needs of the students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mireille L. N. We...  [Read more]

Gianluca Costa Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences If you are thinking of moving to Hong Kong to teach English, this article is a great overview of how an ESL teacher's life in Hong Kong can be. English is widely spoken in Hong Kong, and even young children start their English education very early. Many parents place their children in English institutions early on, which shows how important English education is in Hong Kong. That's why Hong Kong offers many opportunities for ESL teachers, and you can find placements in a variety of school settings, from kindergartens, learning centers to private tutoring lessons. Most schools expect you to be in your classroom at 8:30, ready to welcome the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When I think of materials in terms of English Second Language (ESL) teaching, I think of a broad range of items, from worksheets to pictures, flashcards to figurines, exercises, tests, and so on. To put 'materials' more in perspective, these are materials needed to deliver an ESL course. I have created course material and training material since 1995, firstly for training artisans in development projects in South Africa, and later from 2001 to 2006 in Wales, training Voluntary Sector groups. For one employer, I created a 'Behavioural Based Safety' course for North Sea Safety Standby Vessels (Offshore operations), which included four...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In February 2019 I took on a part-time teaching job at a language school close to Toulon, France. I am a Dutch citizen and English isn’t my first language, but I am fluent enough to be able to teach several evening classes. And so, I did. Via this school, I was then approached by another institution to teach English to future hotel directors and hotel receptionists. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marieke V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Seeing as I have a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management, this seemed like the perfect fit. While teaching I realized that being fluent in English and being able to teach English are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Learning an unfamiliar language is no easy feat and with the globalization of the English language, more and more people are faced with the task of learning English to better their lives. It is no secret that English is one of the more difficult languages to learn given its many peculiarities and the lack of clues to pronunciation. This makes learning English not only more complicated but often frustrating for students who have difficulties understanding certain concepts. This is where games can have a huge impact. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Randi B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The most important job of any teacher,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Effective teachers know that they need to do more than simply following the activities found on the course books one by one. They need to connect their lesson to the students learning abilities and learning styles and to the overall objectives of the lesson. So what does it take to have effective teaching? Effective teaching always begins with an effective lesson planning that addresses the needs of the learners. What is the lesson plan? The lesson plan is like a roadmap that you and your students are taking. The final destination cannot be reached without carefully planning each step that is essential to the overall learning of the student. The final destination represents the lesson objectives. This post was...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker TEFL Information Teaching Ideas In the current climate, more and more EFL teachers find themselves teaching English in an online environment rather than in a traditional classroom and it can sometimes be a difficult transition. It is also important to remember that online learning is often a new concept for many students and they too might find it difficult to adjust in the beginning. Online English students can easily become distracted by a range of outside forces, or simply become tired after spending long periods in front of their computer screen. This can be a natural occurrence when working online and is not necessarily a reflection on your teaching or the content of the lesson. However, in order to avoid...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas Of the four language skills taught in an ESL classroom, listening skills are often overlooked as teachers can be unsure how to make these lessons interesting and relevant to their students. However, as listening skills are a fundamental part of the language learning process, it is vital that we give them the classroom time they deserve. The good news is that there are many ways to make listening skills lessons both fun and productive. Here are 6 ideas for livening up your lesson plans. One simple way to engage your students in a listening lesson is to use popular culture as a tool. Most students would much rather listen to music, TV shows, movies, or podcasts than sit through a dry monologue from a textbook. To add...  [Read more]

  The next category we are looking at in our series on teaching special groups in ESL are individuals. Teaching individuals, or one-to-one, forms a large part of the ESL market. Find out the positives, negatives and tips in this video. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit really helps potential teachers figure out the right questions they need to ask before accepting a job. I also do appreciate how this unit tells new teachers that its...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Use these 7 activities for the ESL classroom to teach the simple present to your students and help them understand the correct structure and usage of the tense both quickly and easily. Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Setting up your EFL classroom is a very important task for any teacher of English abroad. Here are the best tips on how to set up your EFL classroom the right way to maximize efficiency and fun with your students. Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Use these 7 activities for teaching the past progressive for the ESL classroom to teach the present perfect tense to your students and help them...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this blog post, we will look at an actual example of an ESA straight arrow lesson plan. We will include examples of the activities used and their purpose. You can adapt this plan to a variety of other uses and levels. Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Setting up the classroom is often overlooked by teachers - but it's oh-so important! In this blog post, we take a look at the importance of the ESL classroom setup. Shirin Sophy Destinations Alumni Experiences Are you...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this blog post, we will look at an actual example of an ESA straight arrow lesson plan. We will include examples of the activities used and their purpose. You can adapt this plan to a variety of other uses and levels. Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Setting up the classroom is often overlooked by teachers - but it's oh-so important! In this blog post, we take a look at the importance of the ESL classroom setup. Shirin Sophy Destinations Alumni Experiences Are you...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas One of our TEFL alumni has shared with us his tips when teaching one-on-one English lessons. Check them out in this post. Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas It is not unusual for some ESL teachers to shy away from certain kinds of lesson as they are unsure how to make them interesting and productive. One common lesson that teachers often struggle with is listening skills. Here we look at some great ways to improve listening skills lessons in the ESL classroom. Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas To provide a rounded English language education you need to cover all the different language skills equally. However,...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas Image by Alice Bolden via Writix Of all the language skills that are taught in the ESL classroom, teaching writing skills is often seen as one of the least popular. Some teachers consider these lessons to be a bit boring, hard to evaluate and somewhat limited in what you can incorporate into them. However, this doesn’t have to be the case as teaching writing skills to your ESL students can actually be interesting, fun and productive. Take a look at these ideas for spicing up your English writing skills lessons. One of the most common reasons why writing lessons are sometimes seen as boring is that many teachers stick to a traditional approach that rigidly focuses on structure, grammar, and punctuation. While these...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas If you have already switched to online ESL teaching, you've definitely been using an online board. There are many good options out there, but I prefer using Miro over the others. Miro is a convenient online whiteboard with lots of fun and interactive tools to use during the class and outside. In this blog post, I'd like to share several interactive ideas to enhance your online ESL lesson. At the beginning of the online ESL lesson, start with a warm-up conversation. Ask your students about their mood, day, weather, etc. Just do some small talk of any kind. To support the conversation, you can encourage your students to draw pictures on Miro...  [Read more]

1. Introduction 2. Benefits of ESL Teaching Resources in Beijing 3. Types of ESL Teaching Resources in Beijing 4. How to Access ESL Teaching Resources in Beijing Are you looking for ESL teaching resources in Beijing to enhance your English language teaching skills? Look no further! ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training) provides a wide range of resources to support ESL teachers in Beijing and help them deliver high-quality lessons to their students. Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced educator, our resources are designed to meet your needs and enhance your teaching experience. Accessing ESL teaching resources in Beijing can offer numerous benefits to ESL teachers. These resources can help teachers create engaging and interactive lessons, improve student engagement, and...  [Read more]

At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we offer a wide range of digital resources for ESL instructors to enhance their teaching skills and provide their students with a more engaging learning experience. Our digital resources are designed to be user-friendly, interactive, and accessible on various devices, making it easier for instructors to incorporate them into their lesson plans. Whether you are a seasoned ESL instructor looking to refresh your teaching methods or a new teacher seeking guidance, our digital resources can help you take your teaching to the next level. 1. Introduction to ITTT 2. Benefits of Using Digital Resources 3. Types of Digital Resources Available 4. How to Access ITTT's Digital Resources ITTT is a leading provider of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A newly trained or even an experienced teacher of a foreign language will always have a key question in mind as they begin to teach English: how do I get students motivated to learn English and maintain this motivation. This is a crucial concept as maintaining motivation is vital to learn any foreign language and if this motivation diminishes, then even the most remarkable or conscientious of students will not accomplish their goal of learning the language. Keeping this in mind, there are many ideas that can be used and incorporated in lessons to get even the most unresponsive student motivated to learn English. This essay will highlight some of the methods a teacher can use to motivate and maintain motivation in...  [Read more]

Michela Coticone TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching a new language to children can come with many challenges because there is limited time and sometimes limited attention spans. To effectively teach a new language, children need to have a feeling of confidence in the fact that they can perform what they are being taught, and the element of having fun while learning. Children, just like adults, need repetition to effectively learn a task. Repetition Repetition alias Drilling: Is it an Effective Way to Remember Language Points? will allow a child to mentally prepare themselves for a task that will happen at a certain time of the day, therefore they can begin to anticipate what their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Today was awesome! He’s a couch potato. I’m broke. She got ripped off. Chill out! You're so cool! Slang words and phrases help simplify language and make it more effective. Learning English slang and idioms allows students to engage in a more natural way of communicating. This will help students to improve their fluency and improve their conversation skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shaelagh M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There is some debate as to include slang and idioms throughout lesson plans or have single lesson plans focused on slang and idioms. Regardless of which style the teacher wants to lean...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Destinations Although Russia has one of the highest demands for English language teachers in the world, it is often overlooked. However, there are many reasons why we think you should seriously consider Russia as a TEFL destination, and here are our top 5. Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Check out these 7 awesome ESL conversation activities that will really get your students talking and help them learn English in no time! Linda Dunsmore Destinations Spring is the ideal time to start your TEFL adventure! Here are our top 10 places to take your TEFL course in the springtime. Linda Dunsmore ...  [Read more]